A mother's love for a lost son — the sex offender found dead Saturday

Posted in Related Deaths

11-10-2014 Missouri:

On Nov. 10, 1992, Lewis Green, then 22, shot himself in the head during a game of Russian Roulette.

That left him partially paralyzed on his left side and with mental problems, his mother said.

Twenty-two years and five days later — on Saturday — Green, 44, was one of three people shot to death at a north side Springfield hotel that often is home to transients, as well as families down on their luck.

"I loved my son," said Green's mother, Kaye Green, Tuesday before she went to start making funeral arrangements. "I loved my son in spite of himself."

Green was living in room 149 of the Economy Inn where he was required to have his address posted online because he was a registered sex offender. Also killed in the same room were Danielle J. Keyes, 29, and Trevor L. Fantroy, 43. One man survived, Christopher K. Freeman, 24. No arrests have been made.

Kaye Green, 63, a former machine operator who retired from Solo Cup after 24 years, said her son moved to the Economy Inn about five months ago. She said he could afford the payments on his checks from Social Security disability and the motel didn't do background checks on who lived there.

The owner of the motel has not returned repeated phone calls from the News-Leader.

Kaye Green said she doesn't think her son's status as a sex offender had anything to do with his death. Police have not commented on whether they are investigating a possible connection.

"Whoever did that was a coward because he couldn't run," she said. "He was trapped in his own body."

William Chrisman band teacher dies

8-4-2014 Missouri:

A former William Chrisman High School teacher accused of molesting a student died just a day before his scheduled court hearing.

James N. Owens, 29, of Lee’s Summit, died July 30. The cause of death is unknown.

According to court records, a plea hearing was scheduled for July 31, but had been rescheduled for Aug. 21. Owens faced charges of enticing a child and second-degree child molestation, a misdemeanor. Court records also indicate that a trial had also been scheduled for Monday, Aug. 4., but it was canceled.

In 2012, Owens was accused of having an improper relationship with a 14-year-old female student. The mother of the victim intercepted a conversation thread on Facebook between Owens and the girl that contained sexually explicit messages, according to the probable cause statement. The student also admitted to a school counselor that she and Owens had a romantic relationship, which included kissing and touching that sometimes occurred in the Chrisman band room.

Child Molester Kills Himself in Court With Cyanide

7-5-2013 Missouri:

It was like a scene out of a spy thriller. Steve Parsons of Maryville, Missouri, was absolutely not going to jail.

Parsons, age 48, had been accused of forcible sodomy of a 14-year-old girl. He was having his day in court and a verdict had been read. He was found guilty, not of forcible sodomy, but of statutory sodomy. The crime carried a sentence of up to 7 years in prison.

What witnesses describe next, according to a local news station, is something they will likely not forget for the rest of their lives. Nodaway County Sheriff Darren White tells what happened in the courtroom as the jurors pronounced Parsons guilty.

“As the judge was polling the jury, Mr. Parsons stood up, walked to where I was seated and looked at me and said, ‘I’m going to throw up.’ He picked up a drink, took a very small drink out of this cup, and then returned to his seat. Less than two minutes after that, Mr. Parsons arched his back and began to have a seizure.”

White said that Parsons collapsed to the floor and began convulsing. He stopped breathing on the way to a nearby hospital, and later died.

On Friday authorities searched Parsons car and found a piece of paper with a phone number on it. It turned out to be for a chemical company. Further investigation revealed that Parsons had bought 100 grams of cyanide from the company and apparently ingested it in the courtroom, killing himself in front of the judge, jurors, sheriff and onlookers, rather than go to jail. An autopsy report confirmed that his death was a result of cyanide poisoning.

The prosecuting attorney who brought Parsons case to trial, Jerry Biggs, said, “I can’t speculate to what he was going through, but I’m firmly convinced that his death was not a result of a wrongful verdict by the jury. This was a girl who had been wronged and was determined and brave enough to make things right.” ..Source.. by Mike Tuttle

Police say man killed self after assaulting woman

3-3-2011 Missouri:

COLUMBIA, Mo. • Authorities say a Lake Saint Louis man sexually assaulted a woman in Columbia and attempted two more assaults before killing himself early Wednesday.

A woman, 22, was forced into a pickup and sexually assaulted outside a Columbia grocery store late Tuesday, police said. The man drove off when she managed to escape.

The Columbia Daily Tribune reported that about 90 minutes later, an armed man threatened a female employee at a Boonville truck stop.

The man drove west and was involved in a brief standoff early Wednesday with Lafayette County deputies on Interstate 70. A county news release says the man shot himself in the head and died at the scene.

The Tribune identified the man as Lake Saint Louis resident Todd Rehkop, 41, who was also suspected in another attempted assault in Columbia. ..Source.. by sltToday.com

Maryland Heights child porn offender kills himself

2-26-2011 Missouri:

MARYLAND HEIGHTS • A man committed suicide after barricading himself in a bedroom of his Maryland Heights home Friday during a home visit by federal court officials, police said.

An attorney identified the dead man as a child pornography offender who was about to be sentenced.

Maryland Heights police said while federal court officers were in the home in the 11000 block of Galaxy Court about 1 p.m., the man became nervous and fled from the basement to a top-floor bedroom. Police said the federal officials then heard what sounded like a gunshot.

The federal court officers called Maryland Heights police, who found the man dead in the bedroom.

Police did not identify the man, but St. Louis attorney Bill Margulis said he was Matthew Kerns, whom Margulis had been representing in a federal child pornography case.

Kerns, 44, pleaded guilty in December to two counts of receiving child pornography. Under a plea agreement, two counts of possessing child pornography were dropped. He was scheduled to be sentenced on March 9.

A sentencing memo submitted in federal court Friday for Kerns said he would probably serve 63 to 78 months in prison.

Margulis said the two had met earlier Friday in Kerns' office to discuss the case and go over the sentencing memo. Three hours later, he received a call that his client was dead.

"I didn't get any indication that this was coming today," Margulis said. "When I met with him, everything was fine." ..Source.. by Marlon A Walker

Cop in Child Pornography Investigation Kills Self Behind Church

12-10-2008 Missouri:

ST. LOUIS — A St. Louis police officer who was under investigation in a child pornography case jumped out of a police car, ran away, and killed himself, authorities said Wednesday.

The officer's name was not released. He was 37 and had been with the department for 2 1/2 years, city police spokeswoman Erica Van Ross said.

St. Louis County police went to the officer's home in south St. Louis County on Tuesday.

"We had received an IP address belonging to a computer at that residence associated with child pornography, either the possession or transfer of it," Panus said. "We went there to serve the search warrant."

The officer wasn't home but provided a key when investigators tracked him down. Panus said the computer and personal papers were seized, but the officer was not arrested.

Later Tuesday, members of the city police Internal Affairs division picked up the officer and were driving him to police headquarters. Van Ross said he was being taken in for two reasons: To await results of the county search of his computer and papers, and for questioning about why he apparently lived in the county when city officers are required to live in the city.

Suddenly, just blocks from police headquarters, the officer jumped out of the car and ran, Van Ross said. Police searched but couldn't find him.

Hours later, a resident called 911 after finding the officer, reportedly behind a church. He had a self-inflicted gunshot wound, Van Ross said. Police transported the officer to Saint Louis University Hospital, where he died.

Van Ross said the officer was not technically in custody so he was not handcuffed or restrained in the police car. Police Chief Dan Isom has ordered a review of protocol to see if changes should be made in the method of transporting people to the Internal Affairs Division. ..Source.. by FOX News

Victim confirms identity of sex offense suspect

3-8-2011 Missouri:

Boonville police have confirmed Todd Rehkop is the suspect for the attempted sexual assault that occurred at a Boonville gas station March 2. Shortly after the incident, Rehkop committed suicide after the highway patrolmen in Lafayette county stopped him.

“(Police) confirmed the identity through the victim,” Boonville Police Department Lt. Bob Welliver said.

David Hanaway, who is Lafayette County Sherriff’s Department Chief Deputy, said he received a message from highway patrolmen who had observed a vehicle on I-70 matching the description and license plate of Rehkop’s vehicle.

“One of my deputies, a highway patrol man, and another one of our deputies joined them, stopped the vehicle and Mr. Rehkop took his own life,” Hanaway said.

Officers at BPD are still trying to look into Rehkop’s background and past, Welliver said.

Welliver also said the incident happened about two-tenths of a mile away from Boonville High School. He said the Boonville Police Department is not taking any additional safety measures in light of the assaults.

“If you feel in danger, call 911, escape —- just your general basic rules,” he said. “There’s no way the police department is going to stop everyone that’s going to commit a crime. It’s impossible to do.”

Welliver said his best advice is for people to take caution.

“There was many, many people in (the gas station) when (Rehkop) walked in, and no one stopped him, so that just tells you how hard it is to prevent these things,” he said. ..Source.. by Teddy Nykiel

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Update: Todd Rehkop identified as suicidal rape suspect

3-2-2011 Missouri:


COLUMBIA, MO. -- UPDATE: Wednesday March 2nd at 5:45 p.m.:

Boonville Police say Lake St. Louis resident Todd Bryan Rehkop, 41, is the suicidal suspect connected to a sexual assault at a truck stop.

Columbia Police believe Rehkop could also be responsible for 2 other sexual assault cases within the past 24 hours.

A woman, 22, told authorities that a man with a handgun matching Rehkop’s description ordered her into his pick-up truck in the Conley Road Hy-Vee Shopping Center parking lot and forced her to take off her clothes and perform a sexual act on him. Somehow the woman escaped and ran naked into the supermarket and got help. Earlier in the evening, a man fitting the Rehkop’s description and carrying a handgun approached a woman, 57, in the Sam’s Club parking lot, also on Conley Road. Authorities believe Rehkop left in his pick-up truck after the woman told him to go away.

Authorities say Rehkop left Columbia and tried to attack a woman at Boonville’s Pilot Travel Center Truck Stop and Convenience Store.

A female employee told police that Rehkop tried to rape her while she was folding towels in a utility room near a shower area. The victim said Rehkop left her alone after the woman begged her attacker not to touch her. Before he left, Rehkop told the woman he was going to kill himself.

Rehkop committed suicide after a brief standoff with a Lafayette County Sheriff’s Deputy who spotted Rehkop’s pick-up truck on Interstate 70. No one knows what Rehkop did between his Boonville encounter at midnight and his suicide in Lafayette county at 2 a.m.

Boonville Police Captain Don Smith said, “Is there a victim between here and there? So far, we haven’t been able to find out. No department has reported anything. Maybe, he was at the rest area or something.”

Authorities said the Columbia businesses involved with the attacks provide a safe and secure environment. For example, Hy-Vee customers can request an employee escort to their car at any hour of the day or night.

Columbia Police Sgt. Jill Wieneke said, “Hy-Vee even has signs posted saying that there’s security surveillance on the parking lot. I think in this case, obviously, the suspect fully could realize that those things were present and still chose to do what he did.”

Hy-Vee officials have many security features at their Conley Road store in Columbia. They are going to review the situation to see if they need to make any changes to keep their customers as safe as possible.

Original Story:

Mid-Missouri police are investigating multiple sexual assault reports in the past 24 hours.

Columbia police said they got two reports last night from stores in the Conley Road shopping complex. The first report came in at 7:35 Tuesday night. A 57 year old female said a man approached her when she was loading groceries into her car in the Sam's Club parking lot. The victim said the man pointed a handgun at her. She yelled at the man and he got in his truck and left the scene.

Around 11:00 Tuesday night, officers got a report of a 22 year old female running into the Hy-Vee grocery store screaming for help. The victim told police she was loading groceries into her car when a man approached her with a handgun. The victim said the suspect forced her into the back seat of a vehicle and sexually assaulted her. The victim was able to escape and run into Hy-Vee for help. The description of this suspect matched the one from Sam's Club earlier in the night.

Around midnight, Boonville Police contacted Columbia Police about a similar incident that occured at a local gas station. Boonville police were able to get a license plate on the truck involved in that incident.

Around 2:00 a.m. a Lafayette County Sheriff Deputy spotted the suspect's truck on I-70, and stopped the truck. After a short standoff with deputies, the suspect shot and killed himself.

The investigation continues and police are working to confirm that suspect in Lafayette County is the same suspects from the Columbia and Boonville incidents. ..Source.. by Mark Slavit

Man Suspected In Sexual Assaults Kills Self After Standoff

3-4-2011 Missouri:

LAFAYETTE COUNTY, Mo. -- A man suspected of a pair of armed sex assaults and approaching another woman with a gun shot and killed himself in Lafayette County on Wednesday morning after a short standoff.

At around 7:35 p.m. Tuesday, a woman reported that a man had approached her while she was unloading groceries into her car at the Sam's Club in Columbia at 101 Conley Road, police said. The woman said the man pointed a handgun at her and the victim said she yelled at him to get away from her, according to police. The woman said the man smiled at her and then got into his truck and drove away, police said.

Around 11 p.m. Tuesday at a Hyvee grocery store in Columbia at 25 Conley Road, a woman ran into the store screaming for help, police said. Police officers said the victim said she had been unloading groceries into her car when she was approached by a man with a handgun. The man forced the woman into the back seat of the vehicle and sexually assaulted her, police said. The woman was able to escape the car and run inside the store for help, police said.

Both women described the truck as large and dark in color.

Around midnight, Boonville police contacted Columbia police about a similar incident that occurred at a local gas station. Boonville police were able to get the license plate of the truck and the information was passed on to law enforcement along the Interstate 70/Missouri Highway 63 corridor.

Around 2 a.m., police said a Lafayette County sheriff's deputy spotted the truck on Interstate 70 and pulled the vehicle over on a traffic stop. After a brief standoff with deputies, the man shot himself in the head, police said. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Columbia police detectives and the Boonville police are currently working to confirm that the man who killed himself is the same suspect in the Columbia and Boonville incidents. ..Source.. by KCTV5.com

Suspect's Suicide Note and New Victim Emerge in Bonne Terre Killings

Posted in Related Deaths

12-2-2010 Missouri:

Bonne Terre, MO (KTVI - FOX2now.com) — There were stunning developments Wednesday in the shooting rampage in Bonne Terre that happened on day earlier: another possible victim, a suicide note, and an apology from the suspected shooter's family.

It appears 25 year old Nathan Fortner was distraught over a breakup with the mother of his son, Danielle Bement. His suicide note reads in part, "I pray to God, God forgives me"... "I can't take it"... "We're not going to get back together". Fortner obviously felt helpless, and now his mother does.

"I'm so deeply sorry," said his mother Mary Anne, "words can't express the sorrow in our hearts."

Police found another body believed to be linked to Fortner's crime spree late Tuesday night. 19 year old Ericka Wade was discovered in a vacant home on Doc Wallen Road in Washington County. Wade was a freshman cheerleader at Mineral Area College.

"Everyone loved this girl," said Nick Basinger, a friend of Ericka's. "A girl like Ericka, what do you do? What do you do?

Tuesday morning, police say Fortner shot and killed Bement, her mother Christine Snider and Snider's boyfriend Derek Nash. Then he killed himself. Police were led to the home on Doc Wallen Road by their investigation. Before her death, Bement had reported to police Fortner had raped her at that location.

Police are not yet saying for sure Fortner was Ericka Wade's killer.

"She was just a blast to be around," said her prom date, 19 year old Justin Clemons. "No matter where she was she was having a good time. And she had a wonderful smile. We pretty much danced the entire time."

Fortner was supposed to go on trial in April for a rape charge. Police say the victim in that case was not involved in Tuesday's crime. Fortner's parents say he was bipolar and had stopped taking his medication.

Clemons and Basinger say their entire community is in mourning.

"She'll always be remembered," said Clemons. "Especially by me, from the experiences we had together. Those are milestones that she shared with me. I'll never forget her." ..Source.. by KTVI-TV

Alisa Maier found alive, suspected kidnapper commits suicide, Amber Alert canceled

7-8-2010 Missouri:

Alisa Maier, the four-year-old girl who was abducted from her Missouri home has been found alive. The investigation led authorities from the St. Louis County Police Department to zero in on a convicted sex offender, Paul Smith. When approached by authorities, Paul Smith shot himself. He died last night at 10:30 p.m. Authorities have said that their investigation into who abducted Alisa Maier is now over.

During a press conference, St. Louis County Police Chief Tim Fitch spoke of the media’s speculation that Paul Smith was the suspect in the case. He said, “We believe at this point we have plenty of evidence to believe that the person you previously reported as a person of interest, Paul Smith, is the suspect. There is no reason to believe at this point anyone else was involved."

According to Chief Fitch, when Alisa Maier was found alive she was wearing new clothes. The clothes were tracked back to a Wal-Mart store in Troy, Missouri. Surveillance video showed the now deceased suspect, Paul Smith purchase the clothes. Alisa was not with the suspect at the time her purchased the clothing. When Smith purchased the clothes he bought cigarettes that required him to reveal his birth date. With that information, investigators tracked him down.

Authorities located Paul Smith, a convicted sex offender, at a home located at 309 Highway D in Hawk Point, Missouri. Officers went to the home to conduct their investigation and upon their arrival, Paul Smith shot himself.

Paul Smith was convicted in 1995 of sodomizing a ten year old boy. He had recently been released from prison. ..Source.. Charisse Van Horn

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Missouri Man Eyed in Abduction Case Fatally Shoots Self

7-8-2010 Missouri:

A Missouri sex offender who shot himself as police approached to question him about the kidnapping of 4-year-old Alisa Maier has died.

The man died Wednesday night at a hospital in St. Charles, Missouri Highway Patrol Sgt. Al Nothum told The Associated Press. The Lincoln County sheriff's department earlier told AOL News it could not confirm the report.

Alisa's 6-year-old brother, Blake, was the only witness to her abduction. He told police a man driving a dark four-door sedan pulled up in front of their house Monday night and ordered her into the car. She was found a day later wandering around a car wash parking lot in a St. Louis suburb more than 80 miles from her home. Details were reported by several news agencies.

On Wednesday, police following up on more than 100 leads approached the Hawk Point, Mo., home of a man they refused to publicly identify, but whom many local news outlets named as Paul Sterling Smith. His house was about halfway between Alisa's home in the town of Louisiana and Fenton, the St. Louis suburb where she was found.

At 4:30 p.m., Smith was outside his home spray-painting his car silver, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported. When police approached, they realized that Smith had a handgun and ordered him to drop it. He refused and then shot himself in the head, the newspaper reported. He had been listed in critical condition before his death was reported.

Local Fox News affiliate KTVI also identified the man as Paul S. Smith, 38, and said he was listed on the Missouri sex offender registry as having sodomized a 10-year-old boy in 1995. He also served prison time on charges of tampering with a motor vehicle and receiving stolen property, the station reported.

Smith's roommate at the Hawk Point house is reportedly James Oellermann, a fellow sex offender on the state's registry. The 54-year-old was convicted of first-degree child molestation of a 7-year-old girl, and sentenced in 2004 to five years in prison, the Post-Dispatch reported. He also had a prior conviction for possession of child pornography. Oellermann isn't believed to be involved in Alisa's kidnapping, however.

Even after Smith shot himself, police still refused to call him a suspect in the case. "We're not saying this is a suspect. He's a person of interest," Nothum said in comments carried by several news agencies.

Family members told NBC that when Alisa saw the man's picture on TV on Wednesday night, she said: "That's the man who cut my hair, Daddy." And when Blake saw the photo, he said: "That's the man who took Alisa," according to NBC's "Today."

Authorities also wouldn't comment on whether Alisa was sexually assaulted during her roughly 26-hour ordeal. She was examined at a St. Louis hospital for nearly three hours on Tuesday night, where she was also reunited with her parents.


The girl's great-aunt, Angela Reddick, told the AP that Alisa was unharmed and hasn't been assaulted in any way.

"The only thing he did was cut her hair to change her appearance -- he tried to disguise the fact she was a girl," Reddick said of the kidnapper. "Evidently this man did not harm her and was not mean to her. She's doing great."

Church billboards and electronic bank signs in the Maiers' hometown of Louisiana carried celebratory messages about her rescue, and well-wishers left balloons and teddy bears on the family's front porch, the AP reported.

"I turned on the news and my wife and I both started crying and fell down to our knees and thanked the Lord," Terry Cook, a pastor who helped organize a candlelight vigil while Alisa was still missing, told the AP. ..Source..

Shooting suspect in Shelby County found dead of an apparent suicide

7-26-2010 Missouri:

SHELBYVILLE, Mo. -- A Waverly, Ill., man who was the subject of a manhunt after a Friday morning shooting in Shelby County was found dead Sunday in his SUV of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Patrick J. McIntire, 41, was being sought in connection with a shooting on Mo. 15 north of Bethel that left a woman described as a former girlfriend injured. McIntire was a registered child sex offender, police said.

The Shelby County Sheriff's Department reports that deputies received a tip at 2:35 p.m. Sunday of a white Ford Explorer parked in a wooded lot off County Road 179. When deputies arrived, they found McIntire's body inside.

Shelby County Coroner Ralph Eagan pronounced McIntire dead at 3:40 p.m., and ruled the man died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

The victim was taken to Samaritan Hospital in Macon for treatment after the shooting at 11:39 a.m. Friday. No report on her condition has been available, and police have not released further details of the incident. ..Source.. by Herald Wig Staff

MO- Cop in Child Pornography Investigation Kills Self Behind Church

12-11-2008 Missouri:

ST. LOUIS — A St. Louis police officer who was under investigation in a child pornography case jumped out of a police car, ran away, and killed himself, authorities said Wednesday.

The officer's name was not released. He was 37 and had been with the department for 2 1/2 years, city police spokeswoman Erica Van Ross said.

St. Louis County police went to the officer's home in south St. Louis County on Tuesday.

"We had received an IP address belonging to a computer at that residence associated with child pornography, either the possession or transfer of it," Panus said. "We went there to serve the search warrant."

The officer wasn't home but provided a key when investigators tracked him down. Panus said the computer and personal papers were seized, but the officer was not arrested.

Later Tuesday, members of the city police Internal Affairs division picked up the officer and were driving him to police headquarters. Van Ross said he was being taken in for two reasons: To await results of the county search of his computer and papers, and for questioning about why he apparently lived in the county when city officers are required to live in the city.

Suddenly, just blocks from police headquarters, the officer jumped out of the car and ran, Van Ross said. Police searched but couldn't find him.

Hours later, a resident called 911 after finding the officer, reportedly behind a church. He had a self-inflicted gunshot wound, Van Ross said. Police transported the officer to Saint Louis University Hospital, where he died.

Van Ross said the officer was not technically in custody so he was not handcuffed or restrained in the police car. Police Chief Dan Isom has ordered a review of protocol to see if changes should be made in the method of transporting people to the Internal Affairs Division. ..News Source.. by FOX News

MO- St. Charles Sex Offender Found Dead In Cell

8-19-2008 Missouri:

KSDK -- A St. Charles man, accused of raping young girls during the late 1990s, killed himself in prison this weekend.

The St. Charles County prosecutor says Charles Steffani tied a bed sheet around his neck, then positioned himself on the bed in a way that cut off circulation.

The suicide took place Saturday at Jefferson County Correctional Center. Steffani, who was charged with 17 new felonies last year, was already serving a 20-year sentence for similar crimes in 2005.